As I am post menopausal following Mastectomy & radiotherapy with ER positive cancer; in May 2019 I was prescribed Letrozole. By August, from side effects of finger/thumb joint painful nodules and compromised fine motor movement my Oncologist switched me to Anastrozole. Three weeks in I started to experience bone and joint pain that moves from bone to bone keeping me awake at night for two or more hours. I have not had more than four continuous hours of sleep since September and beginning to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. The Oncologist has suggested another switch to Exemestane the third and final Aromatase Inhibitor in this group. There is less written about Exemestane and seems fewer women are prescribed this. In some clinical articles it states that Exemestane is an irreversible drug, whereas Anastrozole and Letrozole are reversible, though I can’t find any information on what irreversible really means in terms of risks or side effects? There are some clinical trials suggesting that Letrozole and Anastrozole have a slight increased efficacy over Exemestane? The literature side effects of Exemestane sound more or less the same as Letrozole & Anastrozole so it feels a bit futile to switch again especially if there is less effectiveness to reduce the risk of a recurrence? All of my contact with the Oncologist has been by telephone appointments, it is not easy to get across everything through this mode and also understand answers to questions especially when they are soft spoken, there are only so many “ can you please repeat that’s” that one can ask!
I’m getting a bit panicked about what to do, my primary goal is to reduce a recurrence to the degree that is within my sphere by taking these drugs that increase ones odds significantly, but at what cost to feel like a human being.
Has anybody been down this route and can share their experience and or provide suggestions? Thank you.